1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a stator assembly and more particularly to a stator assembly for a torque converter.
2. Prior Art
In a conventional torque converter having a stator, rapid deceleration or acceleration of the stator wheel or a turbine runner often results in the entrainment of the thrust washer with the stator wheel or the turbine runner. This is due primarily to the fact that the thrust washer does not necessarily rotate coaxially relative to the stator wheel and the stator shaft since the gaps between the outer circumference of the thrust washers and the stator wheel and between the inner circumference of the thrust washers and the inner race of a one-way brake which is secured to the stator shaft are not uniform due to manufacturing tolerances. Under such adverse conditions the stator wheel is sometimes engaged by the outer circumference of the thrust washer thereby wearing the thrust washer and unbalancing the radial forces of the stator wheel thereby damaging the interaction between the inner race and the outer race of the one-way brake. The above mentioned damage can also occur when the thrust washer is held between a snap ring and the one-way brake.